Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Combination of Therapies, the Approach to Improve Cancer Treatment.

Macrophages are one of the most important cells of the innate immune system and are known for their ability to engulf and digest foreign substances, including cellular debris and tumor cells. They can convert into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) when mature macrophages are recruited into the tumor microenvironment. Their role in cancer progression, metastasis, and therapy failure is of special note. The aim of this review is to understand how the presence of TAMs are both advantageous and disadvantageous in the immune system.

Isolation of single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies for detection of Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV) by phage display.

Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV, genus Mastrevirus), has a wide host range and geographic distribution in many parts of the world, and it is one of the most important legume-infecting viruses. Detection of CpCDV-infected plants in the field and evaluation of viral resistance of plant cultivars are possible by conducting serological assays. Here, development and characterization of a specific recombinant monoclonal antibody for CpCDV as a diagnostic tool are described. For this purpose, the coat protein of CpCDV was expressed in Escherichia coli strain Rosetta (DE3) and used to screen a Tomlinson phage display antibody library to select a specific single-chain variable fragment (scFv). In each round of biopanning, the affinity of the phage for CpCDV-CP was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the specificity of the eluted phages increased after each round of panning. Testing of individual clones by ELISA showed that five clones of the monoclonal phage were more strongly reactive against CpCDV than the other clones. All selected positive clones contained the same sequence. The phage-displayed scFv antibody, which was named CpCDV-scFvB9, did not bind to other tested plant pathogens and showed high sensitivity in the detection of CpCDV. A Western blot assay demonstrated that CpCDV-scFvB9 reacted with the recombinant coat protein of CpCDV. Finally, the interaction CpCDV-scFvB9 and CpCDV-CP was analyzed in a molecular docking experiment. This is the first report on production of an scFv antibody against CpCDV, which could be useful for immunological detection of the virus.

Maize Iranian mosaic virus (family Rhabdoviridae) improves biological traits of its vector Laodelphax striatellus.

Plant viruses can alter the behavior or performance of their arthropod vectors, either indirectly (through effects of virus infection on the host plant) or directly (from virus acquisition by the vector). Given the diversity of plant viruses and their arthropod vectors, the effects for any specific system are not possible to predict. Here, we present experimental evidence that acquisition of maize Iranian mosaic virus (MIMV, genus Nucleorhabdovirus, family Rhabdoviridae) modifies the biological traits of its insect vector, the small brown planthopper (SBPH) Laodelphax striatellus. MIMV is an economically important virus of maize and several other grass species. It is transmitted by SBPHs in a persistent-propagative manner. We evaluated the effects of MIMV acquisition by SBPH on its life history when reared on healthy barley plants (Hordeum vulgare). We conclude that 1) MIMV acquisition by SBPHs increases female fecundity, duration of the nymph stage, adult longevity, and survival of SBPHs, (2) the mortality rate and female-to-male sex ratio are reduced in MIMV-infected planthoppers, and (3) MIMV infection increases the concentration of some biochemical components of the infected plants, including carbohydrates, some amino acids, and total protein, which might influence the life traits of its insect vector. The results indicate the potential of MIMV to improve the ecological fitness of its vector, SBPH, through direct or indirect effects, with the potential to increase the spread of the virus.

Physiological responses of plants and mites to salicylic acid improve the efficacy of spirodiclofen for controlling Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) on greenhouse tomatoes.

Salicylic acid (SA) is a signaling molecule that can induce plant resistance to certain herbivores. Although the role of jasmonic acid in mediating mite-tomato plant interactions has been well studied, the role of salicylic acid has not. This study examined how the application of exogenous SA, via its effects on tomato plant physiology, alters the activity of mite digestive enzymes, mite energy reserves, and mite susceptibility to spirodiclofen. Enzymatic activity-including superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase-along with contents of total phenolic, hydrogen peroxide, and total chlorophyll significantly increased in plants 24 h after treatment with 2 mM of SA. In contrast, catalase activity significantly decreased in treated plants, and malondialdehyde content was unaffected. Mites fed on tomato plants treated with SA had significantly lower glutathione S-transferase, esterase, α-amylase, and aminopeptidase activities than those fed on control plants. Energy reserve analyses demonstrated a significant decrease in contents of lipid, protein, and glycogen in mites fed on SA-treated plants, whereas carbohydrate content significantly increased. The LC50 of spirodiclofen was decreased 1.8-fold for Tetranychus urticae fed on SA-treated tomato plants compared to controls. Treatment of adult mites with 2 mM SA on leaf discs did not cause any direct mortality after 24 h. Finally, a greenhouse bioassay confirmed that spider mite mortality following exposure to spirodiclofen was significantly higher on SA plants than on control plants. Mortality of mites exposed to half of the recommended rate of spirodiclofen was similar to those exposed to the recommended rate when they were held on treated plants. These results have valuable implications for T. urticae management programs in tomato production.

Polymorphisms in CD14 Gene May Modify Soluble CD14 Levels and Represent Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Besides the central role of the adaptive immune system, a disturbance of innate immune system is also suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). CD14, a receptor upregulated in activated microglia, is known to be an essential mediator of inflammation in innate immune responses. Therefore, in this study we aimed to assess possible roles of CD14-159 and -260 gene polymorphisms in MS susceptibility and the effects of those polymorphisms to its protein producing capacity in Iranian population. METHODS: In this case control study, CD14-159 and -260 polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 200 MS patients and 200 healthy controls matched in age and gender. Serum levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: There were significant differences in genotype distribution of CD14-159 and -260 polymorphisms between patients and controls (P = 0.01, for-both). Mean serum level of sCD14 was significantly higher in MS patients than in control subjects (3340.30 ± 612.50 ng/ml vs 2353.73 ± 539.07 ng/ml; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In summary, we conclude that CD14-159 and -260 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of MS in Iranian population and affects CD14 promoter activity, thereby regulating CD14 expression. Furthermore, our study provides preliminary evidence for the activation of innate immunity in the pathogenesis of MS. In addition, the findings of the present study suggest serum level of sCD14 as candidate biomarker of MS severity.

Exosomal microRNAs in breast cancer and their potential in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment prediction.

The significance of exosomal microRNAs (EmiRs) in breast cancer (BC) diagnosis has been widely addressed over the past decades. However, little information is still available regarding these reliable biomarkers' impacts on BC early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment outcome predictions, but their great potential in spotting BC early and their predictive essence in BC prognosis and treatment results are promising against this common cancer. The present review focuses on the most recent findings and advancements of EmiRs applications in BC early diagnosis and treatment prediction and identifies current helpful EmiRs that are widely used in this regard.

A Sensitive Immunocapture-RT-PCR Assay for Detection of Maize Iranian Mosaic Virus in Individual Small Brown Planthopper Vector, Laodelphax striatellus.

BACKGROUND: Sensitive detection of Maize Iranian mosaic virus (MIMV) in its insect vector, Laodelphax striatellus is essential for effective forecast and control of this viral disease. OBJECTIVES: Three methods of ELISA, RT-PCR and IC-RT-PCR were compared regarding their sensitivity for detection of MIMV in the single planthopper with a series of various dilutions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To detect MIMV from a single insect vector, the sensitivity of three methods including ELISA, RT-PCR and IC-RT-PCR was evaluated. RESULTS: Compared to the other methods, the IC-RT-PCR showed more sensitivity and detected virus at least at the 160 dilution. While, both ELISA and RT-PCR methods could detect up to the 120. CONCLUSION: The results reported herein showed that IC-RT-PCR is a sensitive and simple method to detect MIMV from a single insect vector with high efficiency and reliability. These findings might be useful in the prediction of viral disease incidence in host plants and this method can also be effective to detect other viruses in their insect vectors.

A Novel Approach to Discriminate Subgroups in Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of central nervous system. Since different types of immune cells are involved in MS pathogenesis, in this study we aimed to evaluate serum levels of several immunological components including soluble CD4 (sCD4), sCD8, sCD163, and immunoglobulins as markers of activity of T-cells, macrophages, and B-cells in different types of MS. Serum levels of sCD4, sCD8, and sCD163 of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS, n=61), primary progressive MS (PRMS, n=31), secondary progressive MS (SPMS, n=31), clinical isolated syndrome (CIS, n=31) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO, n=31), and healthy controls (n=49) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum levels of Ig-G, Ig-M, and Ig-A were determined using nephelometric technique. Serum levels of sCD4, sCD8, sCD163, Ig-G, Ig-M, and Ig-A were significantly different in five groups of cases (p<0.05). Furthermore, application of stepwise method of discriminant analysis yielded 4 significant discriminant functions of classification due to the presence of six levels of categorical variables in the analysis. The most important function explained 85.5% of the total variance with the correlation value of 0.79. Taken together, our preliminary analysis suggests that although we found some functions to discriminate most of the patients, further studies will be required to individuate immunological markers characterizing the different type of MS including RRMS, PPMS, SPMS, CIS and NMO as proved by the data on sCD4, sCD163, Ig-M, and Ig-G in blood.